Ichigo's Twin: A Bleach Love Story
by HisKittenTheAuthor
Summary: In the first chapter there are subtle hints at who the OC will fall in love with. Ichigo has a twin sister named Hana Yuri Kurosaki, she is a very kind girl who doesn't like to speak to others. She, like Ichigo, can see ghosts only she is something other than human or soul reaper. She falls in love with someone that no one seems to like and her brother is not happy about it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Meeting Me.

Hello there, it's a lovely day today isn't it? My name is Hana Yuri Kurosaki and I'm Ichigo Kurosaki's twin sister! I am now 15 years old and 5'3''. Short I know but Ichi-nii says that it makes me cute! He he, oh yeah, our birthday is the same day too! July 15! Anyway, I have hair that is the same color as Ichi-nii's and it reaches down to my ankles with a slight wave at the end, I also have an antenna on the top of my head. No matter what I do it won't go down! I have no bangs really but what were my bangs when I was younger isn't quite as long as the rest of my hair is. I keep most of my new little hairs pulled to the side with pink flower clips. My chest is just as big as Orohime-chan's but I don't understand why that's such a big deal. I have an indent above my heart on my front and back, it oddly enough doesn't bother me but it is strange so I cover it with bandages any chance I get. If you ever see me without my strawberry shaped necklace then something is dearly wrong! My Ichi-nii gave me that necklace so I can always remember him so I rarely take it off. My eyes are the exact same color as Ichi-nii's too! We have two younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin. Ichi-nii and I have always been able to see ghosts though I tend to go out and look for some to sit with in secluded places. I don't speak to anyone but Ichi-nii because I used to be made fun of for my voice. It was never very strong and it hardly sounds like I put any emotion into it when in truth I very much do. I hate being alone and feeling unloved; I also hate the winter and cold. I hate it because I love warmth and flowers, though I rarely hate anything at all! Ichi-nii is very kind to me and listens to everything I have to say when I do have something to say, even about girl things. Like once I had a crush on this boy, well more of a ghost than a boy, so I talked to Ichi-nii about it and he helped me figure out what to do. I am a girl who cannot kill anything, not even a bug! I accidentally killed one once when I was little and I began bawling, Ichi-nii had to make me stop crying. About the ghosts though, I met an evil one a long time ago but he didn't try to kill me. He was a kitty cat and I sat and talked with him for a while. The poor guy was upset that he was nothing more than a weak hollow so I encouraged him to work harder! I even got him to smile at me and he didn't seem too bad to me, so I continued talking to him. Eventually though, he disappeared and left me alone. He was one of my first friends so I was very sad. Now about things that I like to do! I love drawing and gardening. My garden outside at home is huge; it has some of my favorite flowers in it. I like roses of all colors, lilies, orchids, forget-me-nots, marigolds, snapdragons and bleeding hearts just to name a few. Ichi-nii helps me with my garden sometimes since it's so big. Otousan (Sp?) says that I could either be a famous artist or botanist when I get older. One thing about my drawings is that I tend to draw things that Ichi-nii and I eventually come across, like I drew Chad-kun a few days before we met him. Karin-nii says that it makes me a psychic or something! I love my drawings and I always show them to Ichi-nii, he tells me that I get better each time I draw.

He he, do you want to know why I'm named Hana? Okasan once told me that she and Otousan named me Hana because I was as pretty as a flower and my skin was as soft as flower petals. Oh, Hana means flower by the way! Yuri means Lilly, they were Okasan's favorite flowers and so I always loved my name.

I adore those things of the supernatural persuasion. He he, I used a big word huh? I'm smarter than I may seem to act but I really just want to stay closer to Ichi-nii, if he thinks of me like I'm still a little kid then he will stay close to me. I have a bit of separation anxiety you see, it was caused by me getting lost once when I was little. Otousan and Okasan had taken Ichi-nii and I to the park, this was before Yuzu and Karin were born, and I took off to explore without making sure I knew where everything was. I don't remember how long it took me to realize that I was lost but once I did I was very scared. I sat down on the ground and waited for a familiar face to show up but it didn't happen that day or night. The sun had been high in the sky by the time I was found the next day and since then I have been reluctant to leave Ichi-nii's side.

This is quite a bit to take in at once isn't it? Anyway as you may have noticed, I like to show my emotions but I won't do it until I get to know someone a little bit. You may have also noticed that I tend to ramble; my mind doesn't stay on one task at a time very well. Drawing helps me stay on task sometimes, music does too!

In my personal opinion, even a ghost is a living thing that deserves a second chance. It's like when I look at a dandelion, who decided that they were weeds? They are living; they have soft petals and spread seeds in a way that makes children happy. Just because they multiply quickly makes them a weed? Some people and creatures are like that. I despise judging others so I try to get to know and understand them first. Kind of like with that "evil" ghost from before!

I smiled up at the sky, the clouds look like flowers today. Clouds are another thing that I like; some people hate them because they cover the sun and bring rain. I love them; rain makes flowers brighter and perkier and refreshes everything. That's worth having to stay inside or a small bit of mud right? "When shall you let me see a rainbow again, Mr. Sun?" The orb of light didn't answer my quiet question but I smiled up at it anyway. The sun was emotionless but it still brought light to the earth and allowed life to go on, there was no time for emotions when you were as busy as the sun is. "Hana, supper's ready!" Ichi-nii called out his window up at me; I nodded down at him and went back inside. I would love to tell you more but I have to go now so you just have to wait until next time to get to know me better. Bye!

Well, this is my first attempt at a Bleach fanfiction and I would like to know what you think. This is not an incest story though it may seem that way; Hana just wants to be very close to her only "big" brother. This will become a love story and there are subtle (I think) hints throughout this chapter at who it will be with.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Death and Strawbe- Ichi-nii.

Hana POV

Today is a nice day, Ichi-nii and I were walking together as normal when we noticed some skate boarders knock over flowers meant for someone who passed. I frowned, how could people be so mean? Ichi-nii kicked the skateboarder in the face and made him fall. I am not one for violence but these people deserved it for disturbing the dead. "What the?! You two suddenly appear and you kick over Yama-Bro, plus you want us to get out of here!?" "What are you thinking? You wanna die? Huh!?" Ichi-nii glared at the man, my eyes narrowed the slightest at him. "Say something, you…" I tugged on Ichi-nii's sleeve and he kicked the man in the face without trying. "Toshi-Bro's down!" I smiled up at my "big" brother and kept my hands around his arm. "D-don't know what's going on but this is dangerous… I've never seen such irrational violence…" One of the man's friends said, frowned and pouted. You're the ones that caused it in the first place. "That guy's definitely one of those… If we fight with him, we'll be killed for sure….!" Ichi-nii pushed the one who was speaking to the ground with his foot, "Shut up already! All of you guys look over there!" I walked over and kneeled next to the spilled flowers. "Question 1! What the heck can that be!? Ok you over there, the stinky looking one!" The man Ichi-nii was addressing mumbled something like "Who me?" before he went to answer. "U…Umm… An offering to the kid who died here recently…" Ichi-nii kicked him in the face and he fell over backwards, I slowly began to pick up the flowers. "Question 2! Then why is the vase… knocked over?" "Th… That's cuz we knocked it over… skateboarding…?" I finished rearranging the flowers, "I see… Then shouldn't you apologize to her!?" I stood and walked up behind the ghost of a little girl that had pigtails. "I'm sorry I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry, I won't do it anymore. I'm sorryyy!" The two began screaming and running away, I have to say that it was annoying, I didn't show it though. In some cases emotions could be weaknesses. Ichi-nii and I turned to the little girl, "If we scare them this much they probably won't come around here anymore." I nodded and smiled at her, the dear was awfully cute despite the blood. "Sorry 'bout that, using you this way." "Nah I'm the one who asked you two to chase them away, I have to cooperate at least this much." She turned her attention to me, "Thank you for fixing the flowers." I nodded, "Well then, bye we'll bring you new flowers soon." "… Ok thanks you two. Now I can spend my time quietly." Ichi-nii began waving over his shoulder and I began walking backwards so that I could wave at her. "You're welcome hurry up and go to heaven." Ichi-nii and I walked home together. "You're very nice, Ichi-nii." He smiled down at me and put a hand on my head, "Yeah yeah, whatever. It's been a while since you've talked, even to me." I sighed and did a little twirl for the fun of it, "Oh well, I prefer not to use my voice when I don't have to but if I don't speak to you then you get worried about me." He huffed and smirked, "Pretty big words, "little" sis." I blinked and made sure to turn my back to him. "If you want, you can put some flowers from my garden out for her…." Instead of walking inside I walked out to my garden, Otousan was going to be mad at Ichi-nii for being late. I began to water and fertilize the plants in my garden and noticed a strange new flower. It was beautiful, a black rose with a type of aqua green at the tips of each petal. "Wow…." Next to it was a baby blue and white daisy. I had never seen flowers like this before. "So strange…." I lightly touched the petals of each flower and smiled. The rose was so much softer than the daisy. I sat down and took a sketchbook out of the bag I always carried with me so that I could begin drawing the flowers. I smiled at my sketches and took out my markers so that I could color them. Things like these flowers have been appearing more often lately and often disappear just as I finish drawing them. I finished my coloring and looked up, as was now normal the flowers were gone. What do these things mean? It must have something to do with my "psychic ability". I lay back on the grass and looked up at the sky, so pretty… What would it feel like to glide through it on wings like a bird does? What would it feel like to be free of the chains of life like a ghost? I giggled a little at my thoughts; Ichi-nii didn't very much like my random questions like this at times. I walked inside as Otousan began speaking to a large portrait of Okasan again; I smiled and walked up to Ichi-nii's room. "Jeez… Why's everyone in our family like that…" "Not everyone is, Ichi-nii." He just sighed at me and something flew past the two of us, it was a butterfly that looked like the one I drew a few nights ago. "…? A black swallowtail butterfly…? What is this? Where'd it come in from-" The butterfly turned into a pretty girl, I jumped up and held onto Ichi-nii's arm. "…Wha…" The woman didn't seem to notice us, she stepped forward, "It is near…!" Ichi-nii kicked her so that she flew to the wall. ""It is near…" My ass, retard!" The woman seemed surprised. "Eh!? You're a pretty confident burglar. By "It is near…!" do you mean that like the safe is near or something!?" I hugged Ichi-nii's arm, I'm not the best with strangers. "Y… you… can see me…? I mean to say, did you just kick…" "Huh? What the heck are you talking about? Of course I can see…. Hana can see you too…" Ichi-nii was kicked by Otousan; I blinked in surprise though I should have seen it coming. "Be quiet Ichigo! Don't make a ruckus on the 2nd floor!" Ichi-nii fought back and kicked Otousan in the face, which seemed to be one of his favorite things to do. "You be quiet! How can I not make a ruckus! Look at this guy! What the heck is going on with the security in this house!?" Otousan seemed confused; could he not see the girl? "Hmm? What do you mean look… Look at what?" Maybe he couldn't see her… Ichi-nii jabbed his thumb in her direction. "Huh? I'm talking about this samurai-costumed…" "It is useless. It is not possible for ordinary men to see me. I am….. A "shinigami.""

We had now been explained to what the girl was and why she was here. "… I see. So you're a shinigami… And you came from a place called the soul society to exterminate an evil spirit. Ok! I'll believe you! What about you Hana?" I put a finger to my lip and shrugged but Ichi-nii stood up and flipped the table over. "… Yeah right, like I could believe that, retard!" I flinched; Ichi-nii was sometimes too much for me. "You... You can see ghosts but you do not believe in the existence of Shinigami!" "Of course not! Unfortunately, I've never seen a shinigami I don't believe in things I can't see." Oh Ichi-nii, sometimes he's just too stubborn. "Dad couldn't see you so I'll acknowledge the fact that you're not human however, quit the shinigami crap. Got it, you little brat?" He pushed her head forward and I raised my hands ready to stop him. "You have spewed nonsense…" She pointed two fingers at him, "First restraint! Obstruction!" Ichi-nii's hands seemed to become trapped behind his back; I squeaked and flinched away from him in fear. "Ow ow ow ouch!" She was standing up with her foot pushing him down, I stared on in fear. "Y… You… What'd you do…!" "Fufu… You cannot move! This is called Demon Form and it is an advanced incantation only shinigami's can use!" I gulped, okay I believe her now. "Even though I look like this I have been alive almost 10 times longer than the two of you have. And you dare call me a little brat? Usually, I would kill fellows like you," I gulped again and inched closer so I could grab onto Ichi-nii if I needed to. "But spiritual law states that one cannot kill humans they have not been ordered to kill. I will have to be content with just sealing your movements, give thanks you little brat and…"She pulled out a sword and stabbed it downwards; I wanted to scream but stopped myself. There was a man beside Ichi-nii and her sword had pierced his forehead. "Wha…?" I crawled a little bit closer and looked at the man. "N… no… I… Don't want to go to hell yet…!" She pulled the blade from the man, "Do not fear the place you are headed to is not hell it is Soul society. Unlike hell, it is a peaceful place." The man began to sink into a vortex kind of thing. I couldn't help but smile at the way she spoke; doesn't everyone want to go to a peaceful place? I can't think of one person that I know who would willingly go to hell. (Melody: Except me! Author: Go back to your own story Melody! This is Hana's story not yours and isn't Sebastian worried about you? Melody: *Gasp* you're right! I'm coming Sebastian! *Runs off.*) The last thing to disappear of the ghost was his foot and two butterflies like the one from before appeared from it. Ichi-nii looked over his shoulder nervously, "… Wh…. What happened to that ghost…?" I put my hands on Ichi-nii's shoulder and looked down at the spot in the floor. "I sent him to the Soul Society it is called Soul Burial. In your language I believe you call it "going to heaven" it is one of a shinigami's duties." I looked up at the girl and smiled, she's not too bad after all. "I guess I shouldn't even ask if you finally believe me or not." I shook my head and whispered in Ichi-nii's ear, he sighed and spoke for me. "Hana believes you…." "Good but to you I will kindly explain with illustrations so that even a brat like you can understand. Shut up and listen." I giggled, normally it was Ichi-nii giving orders to others but now he was getting them. "Now, in this world there are 2 types of spirits." I began paying close attention, this could be very interesting, "One is called Plus and is the most common spirit, you can say that the "ghosts" you two usually see are these." I smiled at the bunny drawing that I thought was cute. "And the other type is called Hollows and these attack living beings and dead beings alike and eat their souls. These are what you call "evil spirits."" The teddy bear drawing was cute too, "Do either of you have any questions so far?" I shook my head, "Uhmmm can I start by asking why your drawings abnormally suck?" The girl drew a moustache on his face with a marker and I whacked him over the head with my sketchbook. "Aah! Dammit! Just cuz I can't move!" "I will continue the explanation your highness, Mr. Baron. We shinigami's have two duties; one is to guide Pluses to Soul Society using Soul Burial as you have seen and the second is to extinguish Hollows. My current mission is this." Ichi-nii was wiping his new moustache off on the floor. "…? Wait a minute, if you came here on your mission does that mean the thing called a hollow is around here?" I blinked; Hollows are supposed to be bad but if this girl was telling the truth then the one ghost that I had befriended a while back had been a hollow. "That would be the case." I just stared up at the girl not believing her; I wouldn't be able to "extinguish" Hollows because of my opinions and feelings. "A… Are you stupid!? Why are you loitering in a place like this? Hurry up and get rid of it!" I gasped down at my brother, "Well… you see… I do not know why but I cannot feel its presence anymore…" The girl seemed nervous now as she looked off to the side. "Wh… What the heck do you mean…" Something cried out in a frightening voice, "It is as if a great power is hindering my senses…" I grabbed Ichi-nii's restrained arm, if he was nervous then I was. "Hey! Hey shinigami!" "What?" Ichi-nii got a little angry, "What do you mean what! Didn't you hear that huge voice just now!?" "Huge voice? When did…" She was cut off when it sounded again. "I heard it! This is… Undoubtedly the voice of a Hollow!" She went into thought and looked at me. "Did you hear it too?" I nodded; a scream came from downstairs causing me to freeze. "It's Yuzu's voice…!" The girl took off running, leaving Ichi-nii still restrained on the floor. "Hey! Wait up, where are you going!? Was that voice from before a Hollow's!?" I looked up expectantly, "Yes! I will go and get rid of it! You two stay here!" She's going to kill it?! "Cut the crap! The one getting attacked is our family!" That's right, nothing is more important to me than my family and friends. Without them then I would be alone… "Release this spell! Hurry!" "What are you saying!? Even if you come, there is nothing you can do! The number of victims will just rise by one! Leave it to me and stay here quietly with your sister! Got it!?" The girl opened the door and Karin was on the floor. "I… Ichi… Hana… You two ok…?" She's worried about us? She looks like she just took a beating! "KARIN!" "Good… It hasn't come here…. It happened so suddenly… Blood suddenly started pouring out of Daddy's back and he fell…" I froze even more, Otousan is hurt? "Yuzu and I were attacked by something huge while we were still in shock… And I thought I had to… Warn you two…" I blinked and clutched harder to Ichi-nii, I wanted so bad to get up and go to Karin but I was frozen. "I wonder what that is… I could see it a little… It looked like Daddy and Yuzu couldn't see it… Ichi… Hana… Before it sees you two… Hurry… Get away…." Ichi-nii clenched his teeth when Karin passed out. The girl checked her, "… Do not worry. She is just unconscious. Her soul is still…" Ichi-nii and I both began fighting against the spell that was holding him down. "… Stop it! What are you doing!? Stop it! You cannot release that incantation with a human's power! If you force it, your soul will…" The both of us managed to get him free and we ran past the shocked girl. I don't care if I lose my life! My family and friends come first! "Wait!" We continued running despite her scream. "Yuzu! Dad!" We skidded to a stop at the end of the stairs and saw the mess; I froze again but shook my head so that I would be alert. I could see something large through a hole in the wall. It looked at us with the strangest face I had ever seen, if that was a Hollow then it was nothing like the one I met before! One of the creature's hands was wrapped around Yuzu; she was bleeding from a cut on her cheek. "Yuzu!" Ichi-nii and I both yelled. She looked over to us, "Ichigo…. Hana…!" Ichi-nii ran forward with a baseball bat in his hand and tried to attack the creature; I stood by and watched carefully. This may be a living thing in my opinion but no one hurts my family. Perhaps this Hollow had a weakness that I could use. Ichi-nii was thrown across the room by the Hollow who then prepared to smash him; I ran over and stood in front of him. The girl saved my life by cutting off the Hollow's arm. Yuzu began to fall and luckily Ichi-nii caught her. He began trying to see if she was awake but I wouldn't take my eyes off of the Hollow. "Yuzu! You ok? Hey!" The girl skidded to a stop in front of me. "Don't lose focus you two! None of your family members have had their souls eaten!" That relaxed me a little bit, they would live right? "None…" "Yes, even your father, lying over there!" "Wa… Wait a minute! Don't Hollow's attack people to eat their souls!? Then what did it attack our family for…" The girl hesitated before answering, "… Hollows wander searching for souls with high spiritual concentration… For that, arbitrary humans are sometimes attacked." She went silent for a minute again, "I… Have never seen or heard of humans who can see shinigamis and defeat Demon Form on their own…Or humans with such high spiritual concentration…. Most probably, its targets… Are you two!" I flinched; it wanted to eat Ichi-nii and me? "… Wait a sec… He came for Hana and me…? So does that mean this is our fault…? The reason our dad's over there almost dead… the reason Karin and Yuzu are covered with blood… It's all…" I looked down; it is our fault isn't it? "Wait I did not mean…" The shinigami was thrown to the side by a strong blow. "…Shinigami…!" The Hollow was now in front of Ichi-nii and I, I took a deep breath. I see ghosts all the time; I've spent time with a Hollow before so I have no reason to be afraid. I have to fight for my family. "… That's enough… Already…!" We ground out together, "Hey… You…" "You want our souls, right…?" We spoke in sync, my voice sounded as emotionless as it did when I was young. It made me seem unafraid to stand up in front of this monstrous creature. "Then fight us face to face! No one else has anything to do with this! Try killing us and taking our souls!" Ah the wonder of twin minds, Ichi-nii and I could normally tell what the other of us wanted to say without even looking at each other. Our emotions were normally in sync too. "Fools!" The Hollow charged at us and we got ready as best we could. The shinigami stepped in front of the attack and got hurt, my eyes widened. "Wha… Shinigami!" "… You… Idiots… I already told you that your power is no match for it…! Or did you think that everything would be over if you gave him your souls to eat… Either way you are idiots…!" I felt like crying, "We're sorry…. We just…" She pushed her head up a bit off of the ground, "Do not worry about it… Is what I would like to say…" What this girl was saying made me feel awful. "Unfortunately I am no longer able to fight the Hollow…. Now all of us can only wait… Until we become its food…" 'It's our fault…! Everyone'll die…!' I began to cry a little and for the first time the indent above my heart began to hurt. "… Do you want to save your family…?" My head shot up, "! Is there a way!? A way to help them!? Tell us!" The shinigami sat up, "There is a way… No to be exact… I should say there is only one way…" She took out her sword and pointed it toward us. "You two… Become shinigamis!" "Wha… Wha… What are you saying… How can we…" "You can! One of you, pierce the middle of your chest with this Zanpakuto… And I will insert half of my shinigami power! That way, you will attain the power of a shinigami temporarily… And be able to fight the Hollow on equal terms!" THUMP THUMP! Oh no, what's going on with my heart?! I fell to my knees; Ichi-nii was so busy speaking with the shinigami that he didn't notice.

Everything is dark, am I dead? The area around me lit up with glowing flowers. "No, Silly Girl. You were born dead so how can you die now?" A woman's voice answered, I was born dead!? How!? "The indent above your heart, you're a hollow!" I clutched the area above my heart, I'm a Hollow? "But I'm not evil…" "Not all are you are a special kind who helps control how many humans that Hollows kill by awakening their hearts and sending them to the Soul Society." I sat down in the flowers, between some Gerbera Daisies and some roses. "You are a Heart Hollow and you will protect a powerful Hollow from dying at the hands of the shinigami." My eyes fell downward, "But if Hollows are bad, why am I going to protect one?" A warm wind blew and scattered petals around me. "A strange thing a Heart Hollow is… I can't tell you." I frowned but nodded, I suppose some things have to wait to be found out. "Who are you?" "What is my name?" "That's pretty much what I'm asking you!" The voice sighed and the wind blew again, "You know my name so say it." I was silent for what felt like forever, what is her name? "バラ…" (Pronounced Bara means rose.) "Yes, thank you Hana." A sword like the shinigami's began to appear in my hand. The base had petal shapes so that when I pointed it right at someone it would look like a flower. Then there was the end of the sword, it shaped its self into a heart and yet still looked amazingly sharp and beautiful. "Welcome to your new life, Hana…"

*END*

Strange huh? I randomly came up with the Hear Hollow thing the other day. Can you guess who Hana is going to fall in love with or who is going to fall in love with her? Any ideas what the rose and daisy meant?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- The Day I Changed

I yawned and sat up in my bed, my bed? How did I get here? I looked around and noticed that Bara was gone, where is she? I heard her chuckle inside of my head. _"Silly girl, a Heart Hollow's Zanpakuto is their heart." _So Bara is my heart, how interesting. My door opened and Ichi-nii stepped in with his eyes closed. "Please tell me that you're awake so that we can go to school…." He opened his eyes, looked up at me and sighed. "Good morning, my sleepy little nii-chan." He sat next to me on the bed and put a hand on my head. "You scared me when you passed out like that." I shrugged at him and rubbed my eyes. "You clutched your heart, was it bothering you?" I nodded and put my hand over my heart. 'If you're my heart then what happens when I need to use you?' _"You become a full Hollow, an arrancar to be exact." _'I see…' My head was shaken side to side, "Hey! You there Hana?" I nodded and swatted Ichi-nii's hand away. "Back to not talking huh? Well hurry up and get dressed, I'll be I here to help with your hair in a second." Ichi-nii looked sad when he realized that I locked my voice away again. With a sigh I stood up and put on my school uniform and necklace before knocking on the door to signal to Ichi-nii that I was done dressing and could us his help with my somewhat annoying hair. He came back in and I handed him the brush so he could get the knots out of the bottom part of my hair. "There, let's go down for breakfast now." I nodded again.

The hole that the Hollow caused was still in the side of the house but it seemed as if no one knew how it happened but Ichi-nii and I. "But it sure is a miracle! Far a truck to crash into the house and for nobody to get injured! Though it's even more miraculous that nobody woke up!" Otousan ranted, I blinked and looked up at Ichi-nii's shocked face, "Oh Brother, Sister! Breakfast is ready!" Yuzu exclaimed happily, as if nothing at all had happened. Karin on the other hand was not very happy. "Yeah right… Thanks to that, the criminal got away… What's with this family…?" I continued to look up at Ichi-nii; he was thinking the same thing as me, 'What's going on?' "Don't worry! He'll come back and apologize some day!" I sighed; Otousan sure can be crazy some times. "If you two don't eat soon you'll be late." Ichi-nii was so busy thinking that I had to pull on his sleeve, "Huh? What is it Hana?" I pointed to the table to tell him that we should eat, he sighed. "Right, sorry Hana." I nodded to dismiss it and sat down to eat.

Ichi-nii and I began to walk to school, I always tried to stay close to him in fear of getting lost but I think that I already told you guys about that. School was going to be annoying but at least I get to see Hime-chan again! She's so pretty and nice! She didn't have the annoying antenna like I did. At this thought I put my hands up and began to try and flatten down the annoying hair. Ichi-nii took notice of this and grabbed my wrist. "Comparing yourself to Orahime again, huh?" He stopped and bent down so that he was at my level. "How stupid, you and her are two different people and you look fine as you are." I pouted up at my brother with my big, brown eyes; he sighed. "You're just as pretty as her, if not prettier so stop this stupid comparing." I nodded reluctantly and hugged Ichi-nii's arm.

We walked into class to hear us being talked about. "A truck!? Then are they injured!? Or… Dea…" Tatsuki-chan's rant was cut off by Ichi-nii slamming his book bag down on Kojima-kun's head. "We're not dead." He spoke for us both as he normally did; I never ever spoke at school. "Sorry to disappoint you, but nobody was injured." Kojima-kun kind of glared at him while Hime-chan was happy to see us, "Kurosaki-kun! G… goo goo good morning!" Ichi-nii sweat dropped a bit at her. "Y…? Yeah. You look happy as always, Inoue." Hime-chan turned her attention to me, "Hana-chan, it's so good to see you again!" I smiled as she hugged me tightly. "I would have been so upset if you and Kurosaki-kun got hurt!" I hugged her back in order to say that I was thankful for her concern before taking my seat next to Ichi-nii. "So you came? You were helping out with the repairs." "What's 3rd period?" "Social studies." "Ochi-san, eh? Well, he won't bother us much about it." Ichi-nii went to sit down when someone spoke. "You're… Are you Kurosaki-kun?" Is it just me or did that voice sound familiar? _"It's familiar to me as well… Perhaps it is the shinigami that you and your brother met yesterday…"_ It could be… I turned to see who my big brother was talking to and indeed it was the shinigami. She was wearing our school uniform and sitting next to us. "Nice to meet you!" I blinked.

Kojima-kun popped over, "Oh, this is Kuchiki-san. She transferred in today. It's a weird time, but her family was in a situation where they had to move suddenly." He explained, I watched her closely. If she was a shinigami who fought against Hollows then I might have a problem. After all, as of yesterday, I was a Heart Hollow. _"Not to worry, Silly girl. Shinigami are not allowed to destroy Heart Hollows seeing as they often benefit them." _I blinked again; Bara sure can be useful at times. Ichi-nii pointed at the newly dubbed Kuchiki-san. "Y…You… Why!?" "What's wrong?" Kojima-kun asked Ichi-nii ignored him. "Kurosaki-kun, I don't have the text books yet. Let me… May I… Look at yours?" She held her hand out and I looked over Ichi-nii's shoulder only to flinch at the words written on her hand, say anything and I kill you. "Ok!?" "….Wha…!?" She blinked up at me over his shoulder, "Oh, and is this your sister?" Ichi-nii nodded slightly and hesitantly. "Y-yes… This is Hana-chan." I waved slightly at her while backing away a bit. "She seems a bit shy… It is nice to meet you." I hid back behind Ichi-nii and gripped onto the back of his shirt. "S-she is shy… She doesn't like to speak though…"

Ichigo POV

I glanced over my shoulder at my "little" sister. She hadn't been afraid of this girl yesterday, why was she today? Her big eyes held fear and worry, is it because this Shinigami is addressing her?

I led the shinigami outside with Hana close behind me. 'What is she up to…!?' "Where are we going?" The shinigami followed me like I wanted her to. "Leading me to such an empty place, what dost thou intend of me?" Wow that was old-fashioned and annoying. "Stop that weird way of talking!" Hana flinched at my yelling and gripped my hand. "Weird? How rude, is it not good for someone who learned in one day?" I glared at the black haired girl, "Shut up! Just explain what's going on!" She seemed shocked at what I was asking of her. "Explain?" I was getting tired of this! She had to know what I was talking about! "Yeah! Isn't your job over!? Why are you in our class? Didn't you go back to that Soul Society place!?" I fired off the questions all at once, Hana flinched again. I really regret when I yell in front of her but she is always with me so it's almost unavoidable. "You fool!" She retorted, "Only shinigami can return to Soul Society. Right now, I am not able to return there." I deadpanned and felt Hana's grip loosen. "Huh? What do you…" Her eyes narrowed a little bit. "Because… I lost my shinigami powers!" "Wha…?" This time Hana spoke with me showing her true surprise though my voice covered her small, meek one. "B…But I'm no longer a shinigami! Where did this "shinigami power" go!?" The girl just sort of glared at me, ""Inside" of you. It's not your "body" but your "soul" that has become shinigami. Anyway! Last night I had almost all my powers taken by you!" Hana's grip on my arm tightened as the girl rose her voice so I glanced down at her. "I have but barely any abilities left…I'm even forced to be in this artificial body!" Hana buried her face into my sleeve as I deadpanned. "Artificial…?" "It is we shinigami's other body, to be used in emergency situations. A weakened shinigami enters it to wait for his powers to recover." This is a little interesting… "So this body is so? Human form?" I pushed, might as well learn while I can. "Yes, weakened shinigami are targets for Hollows so we act like a human." This explained a little bit, '… So that's why the other guys in my class were able to see her… It still doesn't explain why Hana is acting afraid of her when she wasn't before…' I sweated a little bit and turned my eyes back down to my sister before having them move back up to the shinigami in human form.

"…. So? What does this weakened shinigami want with us?" I asked for Hana too but I wasn't sure if she really wanted anything from my shy little sister. "That's it!" The shinigami held her hand out to me, "Until my powers return…. You will take over my shinigami duties!" I crossed my hands in front of me after ripping my arm from Hana's grip. "I refuse!" I hate to even think it but I have my sister to protect and watch over. The shinigami told me to shush, "… What?" I turned and began to walk away with my sister following after me as normal. "I said I refuse! I'm not fighting those monsters ever again." I didn't look back at the girl when she yelled at me. "W… Wait! You…" "Yesterday… Yesterday, I was only able to fight… Because my family was in danger." I stuffed my hands in my pockets which allowed Hana to wrap her arms around mine again. I glanced over my shoulder at the "weakened" shinigami. "I ain't fighting monsters like that for total strangers! I'm not that nice of a person!" The shorter girl that is my sister gripped tighter on to me. "And Hana is with me all the time! I'm not going to put her life in danger just to help you and I'm not going to leave her behind! I'm sorry if I disappointed you!"

Hana POV

Kuchiki-san lowered her head, "… I see…" She pulled on a fingerless glove with a strange symbol on the back. "… Then I have no choice!" Ichi-nii flinched the slightest bit, "!? What are…" He was cut off by Kuchiki-san slamming her palm into his chin. I gasped as I watched his soul separate from his body, he hit the ground and I ran to him. "!? Waa!? What's this!? My soul has been removed! Hey body! Snap out of it!" He yelled at his body which was lying face down on the ground. I tried to hug Ichi-nii but I just slipped through him. My lip quivered and tears began to form in my eyes, he flinched and his eyes widened. "Oh no! Hana don't cry! You know what happens when you cry!" He tried to put his hands on my shoulders but they slipped through me, the tears began flowing from my eyes. Ichi-nii began freaking out and flailing his arms in an attempt to calm me down. "What's going on?" Kuchiki-san asked while sweat dropping a little bit. Ichi-nii turned to her.

"If Hana is separated from me for too long or she gets upset she starts crying! When she cries bad things happen!" The ground shook a little as I began to wail, "This is your fault! Do something about it!" Kuchiki-san sighed and muttered an "I'm sorry Hana-chan" under her breath before hitting me with the same glove she hit Ichi-nii. As soon as my soul was apart from my body he ran over and hugged me. "It's alright Hana, I'm here see." I wrapped my arms around him, sure I was overreacting but for some reason or another I always wanted to be seen as the little girl I was the day I got lost. _"Hana, you're going to have to grow up sometime…" _ Bara said with a sigh. I stopped crying and wiped my eyes with my hands.

Kuchiki-san walked over and put a hand on my shoulder, I flinched a little but did not pull away. "Is everything alright now?" I nodded a bit and finally looked at what I was wearing. It was somewhat like Ichi-nii's black and white traditional kimono type thing but I had gloves that went up to just below my shoulders and had pretty aqua green bands with heart charms on them at the top. The obi around my waist was the same color and I had a thick sash covering where the indent over my heart was. She stood up and turned her back to us before looking over her shoulder. "Hey follow me; I'm amazed that your soul took so well to being separated from your body though Hana." I blinked but did as told just as Ichi-nii did.

We were now at a park, I looked around while making sure to hold on to Ichi-nii's arm. Ichi-nii was looking around confused, much in the same way I was. "….. Hey…" "Wait it will be soon." Huh, what's she talking about? He turned to her, "What's soon!? We've been here for 20 min…" She cut him off calmly while not even looking at the two of us. "Does a spirit appear near this park?" I thought for a minute, had Ichi-nii or I ever seen a spirit here before? Oh yeah! "Ah- Yeah, one does." "What kind?" Ichi-nii squatted on the ground and held his hand out so that he could show about how tall the boy was. "A 5 year old kid, he usually plays here around 12." "Your friend?" Kuchiki-san asked us, I put a finger to my lip. "What the!? I've just seen him 3~4 times, never even spoke to him…" Her attention turned to me, "What about you, you seem to be slightly more in tune with spirits than your brother." I nodded; I had spoken to the boy a few times. Some of the few times that I actually separated myself from Ichi-nii and I had come to the park I had seen him and played with him.

"What about that…!?" Kuchiki-san pointed a cell phone at us, I blinked. "? What's this?" She replied to his question, "An order from Soul Society, it means that within 15 minutes of 12, 20-meter vicinity of Yumizawa Children's park… A Hollow will appear." I blinked and flinched a bit but what she said next upset me more. "Most likely, that child will be attacked." My lip jutted out a bit; I didn't want the little one to get hurt. The hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. 'What is this feeling?' _"There is an evil Hollow near, be careful."_ I nodded to myself, "UWAAAAA!" That scream, that's the little boy! We looked down to see him being chased by a six legged Hollow and screaming, the poor dear was scared to death. Ichi-nii and I began to move.

"Wait!" Ichi-nii began to pull out the sword on his back. "You're going to help him? Isn't he a stranger?" Kuchiki-san asked calmly, probably because she has seen things like this many times before. I blinked at her before turning to see the boy, "Wh... What are you talking about!? How could I not help someone that's right in front of me…?" I gulped as I continued to watch the scene in front of me, "Whether it's in front of you or far away, it doesn't change the fact that he's being attacked!" The boy fell and I squeaked, how are we just supposed to stand here and watch this?! _"If you don't like it, do something about it." _'But what?!' Ichi-nii turned back to look at him as well, "Don't help him!" Kuchiki-san yelled my eye twitched as a flinch. "Saving him because he's right in front of you!? Don't be naïve; a shinigami has to treat all spirits equally! You cannot just conveniently save those you can see, those you can reach!" My lip quivered as I fought against the urge to go and protect the child, what we're doing right now goes against my natural maternal instincts!

The boy stayed on the ground, "Don't save that kid with such half-heartedness! If you want to save him now… Accept that you must save all spirits!" 'I do accept it…' My fists clenched at my sides as the area above my heart tingled. "To go anywhere for them… To even give your life to save them, make that kind of commitment! The same one you make to your sister!" I closed my eyes and reached underneath the sash on my chest, 'I need you Bara…. Please…' _"Very good, let us fight together, Silly girl." _Something smooth hit my palm and I grabbed a hold of it. I began to pull it from my chest and noticed Bara's handle. 'You are my heart… I shall use you to protect everyone I can!' I pulled her the rest of the way from my chest with a small spray of blood. Ichi-nii and I skidded to a stop in front of the Hollow before he could kill the boy. "Who are you two…?" It asked, neither of us answered but both lifted our swords and sliced off one of the Hollow's legs. "…. Ichigo…. Hana…." It screamed in pain as it flew back, "You have both accepted…? But how are you… Hana?" I glanced at her over my shoulder and she gasped a bit. "I see…" The boy looked up at us so I smiled down at him but he flinched and cried a bit when Ichi-nii slammed his sword into the ground. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" This time I did not flinch, I was too focused on the little one.

I kneeled down and took him into my arms, "I don't accept jack! I saved him because I wanted to save him! Is that wrong!?" "… Wha…!?" Kuchiki-san was very confused, the boy cuddled into my chest as he gripped the fabric of my clothes. Ichi-nii pointed a finger at Kuchiki-san, "Are you any different!? You sacrificed yourself to save us that time! At that time were you thinking about complicated stuff like "this is my shinigami duty"!?" I looked up at my brother blankly, it's true but does he have to be so loud about it? "That's not what sacrificing yourself is! At the very least…"

The Hollow began to stand on its four remaining legs and it charged toward us, the boy clenched tighter to me. Ichi-nii and I both shoved our swords into its face at the same time. "We're different!" It fell to the ground, the boy in my arms stared up in awe. "… I haven't accepted any commitment… Hana I'm not sure of… If things get bad I might run away… Since I'm not a good enough person to be able to sacrifice my life for total strangers… But…" Ichi-nii looked over his shoulder with that amazing determination in his eyes, "… Unfortunately, I'm also not trash that can… Live happily without paying back his debts!" I smiled at my brother, I always admired him for his determination but as of now, I wouldn't let him beat me in everything.

Bara was right, it was time for me to grow up and be my own person instead of having Ichi-nii do everything for me. "I'm going to help you! To do this shinigami job thing! Even if I don't want to!" Kuchiki-san smiled at him, my turn… "Me too…" Both looked at me shocked, as if I had just grown two heads and Ichi-nii's eyes widened. Not only was my appearance slightly different but I was speaking. "As long as I get to help someone, I'll do it…" She smiled back at me, "Yeah… Thanks."

_Bara POV_

_That's it, everyone has to grow up. I'm here to help you as much as I can Hana…. I adore your spiritual pressure; it's so comforting and welcoming. _

Hana POV

Today is the day I realized that I have to grow up to do what I dreamed. In order to protect those I cared about, I couldn't expect to be protected. I have the means to protect myself and others now, I've always had them but I never let myself see them. I thought when I found out that I was a Hollow that my life was over but no, it was just beginning. From now on I will be myself, I will protect those who deserve to be protected. I am no longer the same Hana Kurosaki I was when I awoke this morning, I am now Hana Kurosaki the Heart Hollow and I always shall be!

Thank you all for your reviews and favorites! I adore hearing what people think about my stories! I'm kind of glad that I had Hana stand up and do something after the crying scene… I think I got tired of making her a baby and she got tired of it too.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- My New Life

This is it, the first day of my new life. A life where I don't always cling to Ichi-nii, where I don't fear every little thing, where I will do anything to protect the ones I love. I was going to be assisted in my new life by Bara, my Zanpakuto and heart.

My new life started by me waking myself up for once, I dressed in a pink camisole and a black and aqua green skirt that had chains on it. Hanging off of the intersection of the chains was a skull. Karin had picked this outfit out for me a while back but Ichi-nii had said that it wasn't my style so I didn't wear it when I really liked it. Now that I was my own person, I could dress the way I wanted to outside of school. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled, I looked pretty good. _"Indeed you do." _I could even hear the smile in Bara's voice when she spoke while I brushed out my hair on my own for once.

The next part of my day was cooking breakfast for my family. I was the oldest woman in the family so it was my job to cook, not my younger sister's. Besides, I need to learn to cook for when I get married because I would very much like to be able to cook for the husband I may have in the future. I found myself blushing at the thought of getting married; I had never even had a boyfriend before. Yuzu came downstairs to prepare breakfast and froze when she saw me. "Are you alright, Sister?" She asked, I nodded over my shoulder at her and continued making pancakes. "Perfectly fine, I just decided that you needed a break from cooking for once." Still my younger sibling stared at me like I was a Hollow. I chuckled to myself at the thought because I really was a type of Hollow, not that Yuzu knew about them or could even see them.

"Take a seat please Yuzu, we shall begin eating when Karin, Ichi-nii and Otousan join us." She nodded mechanically and sat down while keeping her eyes on me. My voice sounded just as emotionless as it had when I was younger, it hadn't changed and I didn't mind for once. I have accepted the fact that no matter how hard I tried to push emotion into my voice, it never worked. "How was your day yesterday, Yuzu-nii?" She blinked at me, "F-fine…I was asked about what happened to the house a few times though." I nodded because I understood what she was saying; people had been talking about it at our school yesterday too. "It was the same with Ichi-nii and I."

The others joined us and also stared at me like I was a Hollow as I finished the sunny side up eggs that I was preparing. "Good morning Karin-nii, Ichi-nii and Otousan. Please take a seat and breakfast shall begin." They nodded and sat just as Yuzu had before. "What's with the sudden change in attitude, Hana?" I smiled at my brother and placed a plate full of pancakes, eggs and toast in front of him. "I just thought that I could use a change of pace, don't you agree?" He nodded in that mechanical way, no doubt concluding that this had something to do with yesterday's incidents.

"Kyaaah! My lovely daughter is becoming a beautiful woman at last!" Otousan hugged me after I placed plates in front of Karin and Yuzu. Yuzu dug in right away but Karin stared at hers warily, "Did you poison it?" I giggled and shook my head. "Of course not! Why would I ever dream of poisoning my family?" "I can think of a few reasons…." She muttered, I giggled again and ruffled her hair. "I just don't want to be the useless little girl anymore." All four in the room blinked up at me.

Flour had managed to smudge its self on my cheek while I was baking and the ruffled apron that I was wearing probably helped to get them this way. "Ohhhh! My lovely Hana is growing into an amazingly beautiful woman!" I blushed a little bit, "Otousan, please…" Ichi-nii slammed his hands down on the table, stood up and pointed and accusing finger at me. "Who the hell are you and what have you done with Hana!?" I blinked but smiled. "I'm Hana; I have done nothing but decided that I needed to grow up in order to accomplish my goals." I expected him to say more but he only hugged me, "I'm glad to hear that, Hana."

So now Ichi-nii knows why I'm speaking and acting the way I am, for the most part. I haven't told him it in full and don't exactly plan on it because for now it is not of his concern. I hugged him back and smiled happily. "I'm happy to be able to say it." Today will be a good day for the most part, I can tell.

Kuchiki-san was reading while Ichi-nii was training, she was reading out loud if I may add. He walked up behind her and scared her simply by yelling, "Hey! What are you doing!?" She screamed in fear and turned angrily. "Y-y-y-y-you fool! Don't surprise me! I'm… Studying modern speech!" Really, she has to study the way we speak today, how odd. "Huh? Studying modern speech? With that book? You're making me train while you and Hana relax and read horror manga and whatever the heck my sister is reading!?" I blushed a bit; I was reading a romance manga. (I made this next thing up so you can look for a manga like this but I won't guarantee that you will find it.) In this story a ghost fell in love with a woman who he thought couldn't see him, he desperately wished to be human so that he could speak to her and tell her his feelings. In the chapter I was on he began transforming into a human after promising to protect the girl's life with his new one as compensation.

I sighed, it was a rather nice thought but it was not likely to happen in reality. I had crushed on a ghost before but nothing happened there as you can tell. "Where did you get that from anyway?" Kuchiki-san looked up with still scared eyes, "… Hm. You done with the training?" I looked up from the page I was on in my manga to see Ichi-nii. "Hitting the 100 pepper-filled balls, right? Yeah I'm done!" I tilted my head and thought carefully about what I was going to say, "Are you sure you've done it correctly?" "Of course! Breaking open 100 pepper-filled balls, what kind of training is that? Plus, where did you get this weird pitching machine…"

"You fool! The pepper-filled balls were only the bad ones!" Then he didn't do very well, I hadn't smelled much pepper. Another thing that I noticed about being a Hollow was that my senses were heightened even when I didn't mean for them to be. "Bad balls?" Ichi-nii asked confused I sighed, "Yes!" Both were silent for a minute. "You didn't… Just hit all of them?" "Yeah perfectly!" He boasted, I sighed again and face palmed, my brother can be a twerp at times. I stood up after marking my page in the book and walked between the two of them sensing that a fight was about to begin.

"Ichi-nii," I started, "You were only supposed to hit the balls with pictures of heads on them. Those were the ones filled with pepper." I explained what I had gotten from Kuchiki-san's explanation of the training to me; I would have to do this same thing after Ichi-nii was finished. "How the hell can I make out which of her pictures are heads and which aren't!?" I sighed and sat down again seeing as my attempt at keeping the two of them from fighting wasn't working at all. "Hana, please distinguish between the head and the other." I stood up again and took the bat from Ichi-nii; I took the head ball from his hand and threw it in the air. I swung and hit it smack dab in the center to where it exploded.

Kuchiki-san smiled and nodded at me. "Hana-chan gets it so why can't you!?" His jaw dropped at me, "I didn't know that you were athletic!" I giggled at my brother and waved my hand at him. "I have been keeping quite a few of my talents hidden for the last few years. But I do believe that you should listen to Kuchiki-san." He turned back to the black-haired girl with a slight pout. "Thank you Hana-chan! Listen Ichigo! A Hollow's weakness is its head!" I flinched the slightest bit, 'Is my weak point my head?' I asked Bara, she chuckled. _"Silly girl, you are different than the others, stronger. I do not yet know of your weakness but I am pretty sure that it is not your head."_

Seeming not to know about the inner conversation that I was having, Kuchiki-san continued. "If you slice the head, you can defeat it in one blow! This training is so that you can accurately hit the head in any situation!" Kuchiki-san can be pretty passionate in her speeches if she wishes, I like it. "Why do I have to do that? I've been beating them fine so far." I shook my head a bit; he really needed to learn how to listen. "You fool! Have you once defeated a Hollow in one hit!? Sneaking up to a Hollow and defeating it in one hit is the basics of defeating them! Hana seems to get it so why can't you!?" I smiled the slightest bit.

"It's a miracle that you have remained unscathed so far, from the way you've been fighting!" I could feel Kuchiki-san's eyes turn to me, "Perhaps it is because of your sister that you have." I stopped paying attention and went back to my manga, oh Marybeth how I wished I could be you sometimes. Marybeth is the main girl character in the manga that I am reading, by the way. She has no siblings, two parents and a man who loves her deeply even if she does not know of it at the moment. Oh how I envy those that have someone to love them. _"What are you saying, Silly girl? There is a man who will love you and you will love him very much."_ So Silly girl is my nickname to Bara… But what on earth does she mean? _"He he, there are hints all around you. In your Hollow form you have two different markings on your face, one is his. I can't tell you any more for now but you'll meet him when the time is right." _I sighed irritated, so riddles were her style huh?

"Hello Kurosaki-kun!" I jumped at Hime-chan's yell, though I wasn't the only one who was startled by her. Ichi-nii and Kuchiki-san were as well. "I-… Inoue, eh!? W-w-w-what are you doing here!?" I smiled up at my friend and she finally noticed me. "Oh! Hello Hana-chan!" My smile brightened, "Hello to you as well, Hime-chan." Orihime's eyes widened quite a bit. "Y-you talked! You actually talked!" I nodded happily and hugged her. "Yes I did, I decided that keeping my voice hidden was useless so I would begin talking again." I was hugged back tightly. "I do think you should answer Ichi-nii though." She blinked and nodded. "Eh heh heh. Just doing a little dinner shopping."

I sat back down with my book in my lap; Hime-chan is so bright and happy. She pulled a leek out of her bag and held it out to show Ichi-nii. "I bought onions and butter and bananas and gelatin!" What on earth is she planning on making with all of those ingredients? Oh well, it is Hime-chan and she is herself. "What are you doing here, Kurosaki-kun?" I giggled a little bit; she had to have a crush on Ichi-nii. "Oh? Me? I am- Umm…" Hime-chan noticed Kuchiki-san, "Kuchiki-san?"

"Hm. Who the hell are you?" She deadpanned, Ichi-nii glared over his shoulder at her. "Idiot!" He hissed, "That's Inoue! She's in our class!" I sighed as she went back to the façade that she had used during class and the two curtsied at each other. It was then that both Ichi-nii and I noticed the bandages wrapped around Hime-chan's upper arm. "What's wrong… With your arm? You fall down?" We asked, she pointed at it. "Huh…Oh this? No! I was hit!"

I stood up, ran over to her and pulled her arm up so that I could look at it. "Hi… Hit!? By a car!?" Ichi-nii and I shrieked what the hell was with that!? "Yeah. Last night I went out shopping to get something to drink and _bam!_ I've been getting hit a lot lately." She giggled nervously, I squeezed her hand. "Hime-chan…" "You shouldn't be laughing! That's a serious accident! You should be angrier!" Ichi-nii just didn't get Hime-chan did he? My eyes softened at my friend, "You should be more careful at least."

Emotion had somehow leaked into my voice and it shocked me, how did that happen? "But it's not like they hit me on purpose…" I hugged my friend to show my concern more, "You get hurt often, Inoue-san?" Kuchiki-san asked, Ichi-nii's eyes narrowed, "More than often! It's almost every day!" Hime-chan rubbed the back of her head with her hand, "I zone out a lot- So…" "Then you shouldn't act like it's unavoidable like that!" Kuchiki-san seemed to notice something on Hime-chan's leg so I looked too.

There was a mark on her leg! "That mark on your leg? Can I see it?" She looked down too, "Oh? This? Sure. Go ahead." I moved so that she could see the mark, "I got this last night, too, so I think it must have been when I was hit by the car…" 'Oh Hime-chan…. I wish I could help you with that….' _"In time you will be able to. Heart Hollows are notorious for their healing abilities."_ That thought made me happy, I would be able to help a lot of the people I loved with healing abilities. Hime-chan bent down so she could talk with Kuchiki-san.

"Kuchiki-san… What's with the scary face?" The black haired girl looked up at my friend, "Huh? Oh, no. I was just thinking… It looks painful…" "Wow! You're right!" Hime-chan stood straight again, held out her arm and pointed to the bandaged portion. "My leg hurts much more than my arm!" "AAH!?" I smiled again, I just love my oblivious Hime-chan. "Have you gone numb from the pain!? Go to a doctor!" "Huh? …. Um-m…." She blushed making me smile even more; Hime-chan is just so cute! "Why does that make you blush?" I giggled at Ichi-nii; he could be just as oblivious at times. 'She's blushing because you're showing that you care about her.'

Kuchiki-san seemed to be deep in thought, I was about to ask her what was wrong when Hime-chan cut me off. "Oh! It's this late!" I glanced over to see her looking at her watch before she turned and began running to the stairs. "In a rush?" Ichi-nii and I asked her, "Yeah! Laugh Hour is almost on!" She was halfway up the stairs by now. "You want me to walk you home!?" Ichi-nii called up to her, I flashed a smile at my brother, "Wha… What!? N…no, I'm fine!" Hime-chan called back blushing. "Ok-! See ya tomorrow!" She turned fully to face him with a bright blush, so cute! "Huh? Umm…. Yeah! Tomorrow!" My smile didn't falter as I waved to her, "Bye Hime-chan! See you at school!" "Right! Bye Hana-chan!" And with that, she was gone.

Ichi-nii sighed, "Looking at her wears me out, because you start worrying." I nodded slightly in agreement, "But she's still an amazing person, Ichi-nii." My voice was back to normal now, what was it about Hime-chan that made my voice hold emotion? "That Inoue girl…." Ichi-nii and I both turned to look at Kuchiki-san, "Are you close?" I nodded but he was a different story, "Not really. Well, I guess so. She's been best friends with someone who lives in our neighborhood since 8th grade." "That's how I met her and we just kind of hit it off and became really good friends."

Unlike others who had tried to be friends with me in the past, Hime-chan had never tried to push me to talk, she just accepted me as I was. "Any family?" I looked down as Ichi-nii looked up at the sky, "…. One. She had a much older brother." "Had?" I nodded, "Yeah…. He died 3 years ago." He took over from there, "I was the one who opened the door so I remember it well, it was as we were about to leave for school. The clinic wasn't open, yet I heard the bell ring. A girl was there with her brother on her back." "It was a car accident… There was blood everywhere…" I continued before he took over again. "There was nothing we could do with our equipment." "He died before the ambulance could take him to a big hospital arrived…" "That's it." We finished together, I sighed at the thought and a tear fell from my eye. "Well, I only recently found out that the brown haired girl from that day was her. But why are you asking this, you seem interested in her." Kuchiki-san deadpanned a bit, "Not really, I'm not interested." I shook my head a little bit, 'Then why ask?' Ichi-nii glared at her, "WHA… What the hell is that!?"

Kuchiki-san turned her back to us, "Now! Let's go home too!" She began walking away, I smiled but I had to admit that I was curious as to where she lived. I opened my mouth to ask her but Ichi-nii cut me off, "Oh yeah, where do you always leave to?" 'Well…. That's one way of asking where she lives…. I guess…' She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked over her shoulder. "Heh, what? You're interested in my personal life?" I smiled; Ichi-nii can be pretty foolish at times and often makes it seem as if he's more interested in someone than he really is. It took him a minute but he finally realized what she said. "I… I'm not interested in that!" "Then don't ask." I sighed and placed my hands on my hips.

"You two are acting almost like a married couple, you realize that right?" They rounded on me with a glare so I backed away a little bit before steeling my eyes and my own stance. "DON'T EVEN SAY THAT!" I giggled, "I was just saying. Sometimes friends act like that towards each other, ya know. It was just a joke…" They calmed down a little bit, "You need to work on your sense of humor… Hana…." Despite my having lifted the mood a little bit, Ichi-nii was still angry with Kuchiki-san. "I'm going."

I smiled to myself and decided to try something out of the ordinary for me. After all, isn't that why I decided to change my life? Isn't that part of a new life? I ran up and hugged Kuchiki-san from behind. "Bye-bye, Kuchiki-_chan_!" She froze before looking over her shoulder at me, "Uh…. B-bye…. Hana-chan…" I let go of her with a nod that went well! Better than I had expected anyway…. _"Good job, it's about time you tried something new." _

Ichi-nii and I went home; he had just finished taking a bath, after I had gotten out earlier of course. "BROTHER! HANA!" Yuzu opened the door to Ichi-nii's room, "Have you two seen my dress?" He huffed with the towel over his shoulder. "Hey! Don't open without knocking!" "Oh! You two took baths! I wanted to go in, too!" I blinked; did she not realize how bad that could be? "Are you stupid? You're in 5th grade now, learn to go by yourself already."

Yuzu's cheek puffed out, "Brother…. You've become colder since going to high school!" "No I have not! And I don't know about your dress." I walked over to my younger sister and put a hand on her head. "Do you really mean that, Yuzu?" She looked up at me with a slight blush and nodded. "Yes, but you on the other hand, Hana…. You've grown up… You remind me of…." She cut herself off and shook her head before returning to her previous task and remembering what Ichi-nii had said. "WHAT!? I'm also missing a pair of pajamas!" I shook my head and walked over to my brother's side. "I don't know about that, either! Why do you think that we know the answers to everything?"

We were now in Ichi-nii's room, despite my deciding to grow up quite a bit; I still wanted to stay close to my big brother. I had been sketching in one of my many sketch books when we heard it; beep beep beep beep beep. It kept going, we both looked around confused. "What's this?" "At this hour. Yuzu or Karin are playing video games or something?" The sound stopped, "Oh." "It stopped." I shrugged and went back to drawing. _"HANA!" _I flinched at Bara's yelling voice and the line I was working on went the wrong way. 'You messed up my drawing…' I hadn't noticed that Kuchiki-chan had thrown open Ichi-nii's closet door and was yelling at him.

"_Don't worry about the stupid drawing for now! Get off of the bed, NOW!"_ I nodded and jumped from the bed just as a hand came up through it, a hollow's hand. Kuchiki-chan had separated Ichi-nii's soul from his body but how do I do that without being hit by her? I didn't try to think about it for too long before I yelled out to her. "Kuchiki-chan!" She nodded and pushed my soul from my body as well. "Thank you."

The hollow pulled its self through the wall and roared at the two of us. "GO FOR THE HEAD!" "I KNOW!" I just nodded and pulled Bara out from my heart while Ichi-nii attacked first. My hair was pulled up into a half ponytail on the top of my head by what looked like a piece of skull that had two short horns coming off of it. Where my heart had been was now a full hole and I could feel the two markings engrave themselves on my face. On the right side it felt as if a tear ran down my cheek while on the left it felt as if water had collected on my bottom eyelid and went out slightly from there.

I stood and waited to see what would happen, Ichi-nii had hit the hollow but it didn't seem like it was deep enough to do any real damage but I still waited to make sure. A piece of the mask fell off of the hollow as its head flew back. _"He didn't hit it hard enough!" _I nodded and went to attack but the hollow had already gone back through the wall. "Damn!" "He got away!" Kuchiki-chan jumped up and began to run, I followed without hesitation. "We're going after it!" "WAIT!"

She stopped so I did as well though I felt as if I should keep going, like someone that was very close to me was in danger. "What's going on? … That was… Inoue's big brother!" My eyes widened, it was Hime-chan's brother?! I looked to Kuchiki-chan for her explanation, "I told you that sneaking up from behind and killing it in one hit was the basics against a hollow, right… That's to protect against being damaged… To kill them in one hit…. And avoid seeing the hollow's identity!" I blinked and stepped back. _"It's true Hana… Just as you are a hollow… Others become them… She'll tell you more, listen."_ My eyes fell to the floor as I nodded to myself.

"Because all hollows…. Are the souls of formerly normal humans!" My teeth clenched, 'Like me….' _"I'm sorry to say that you were never normal… You were born a hollow with not even the Soul Society knowing about it…." _Bara explained I waited for her to continue, _"The only reason that the Soul Society finds out about a heart hollow is that the hollow, unlike others, fights for it… Not against. Though you have a special ability that will make dealing with hollows easy… Well two but that's beside the point."_

What do you think? I explained Hana's Soul Reaper/Heart Hollow form in this chapter because I forgot to do it earlier and it gives you more of an idea about who this will be a love story for. Bara told Hana that she has the marking of the hollow who will love her. Also, Hana began calling Rukia Kuchiki-_chan _instead of Kuchiki-_san_ because she wants to show that they are becoming friends. As to when the person who is involved in this love story shows up…. I'm not entirely sure…. I know that he shows up around episode 100 but since I am going by the manga and getting to know Bleach as I go I am not sure when he will come in. So it may be a while before this turns into a real love story.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- My Power as a Heart Hollow

Rukia POV

Hana seemed to be deep in thought, Ichigo on the other hand… "Wh… What do you mean!? Normal humans!? You never told us this!" His sister shook her head but kept her eyes on the floor. "Aren't they monsters!? Aren't they things that must be defeated!?" Ichigo kept screaming at me, he grabbed the collar of my pajamas and pulled me up. "Yes!" Hana kept her distance but kept glancing at the spot that the hollow had disappeared from. "They are monsters! They must be defeated!" I noticed the girl's flinch; yes I knew what she was.

Heart hollows are no monsters though, they are the opposite. They create more from normal hollows by falling in love. Once the hollow admits to their feelings for the heart hollow, they themselves become heart hollows and often create more. There had recently been a dwindling amount of them so perhaps that is why Hana was born as one.

"Now? So then… What I've been killing are…" "We have no time for this discussion!" Both looked up at me confused, "That girl…" Hana's eyes widened at the indirect mention of the Inoue girl. "Will die." She gasped and put a hand over her mouth, I turned to her. "You felt it didn't you, the feeling that someone very close to you was in danger?" She nodded and sobbed slightly, her shoulders shook. I felt sorry for her, she seemed very fond of the girl and the only time that I had ever heard emotion in her voice was when she was around that girl. Without that Inoue girl around, Hana would have no emotion in her voice again. It would be a shame to have her end up like that.

We headed out, Hana directly beside her brother who held me on his back; I had just explained to them the reason why the girl was in trouble. "Hollows… Attack their families?!" The female twin ground her teeth together in agitation and concern. "Yes!" "Why is that!? Don't hollows eat souls when they're hungry?!" She began, "Aren't they indiscriminant?!" Her brother finished, I looked at the both of them. "The hollows that indiscriminately attack humans and other spirits are… The ones who have already eaten their families." Ichigo looked at me over his shoulder, "Wha….?"

Hana ground her teeth together again and muttered something about keeping a promise to herself. "Hollows don't eat souls because they are hungry; they eat souls to ease their pain and suffering." Both looked over at me again. "Most hollows are "fallen souls," heart hollows being the only exception." I glanced at the female Kurosaki as I said this to show her that I knew what she was. "Souls that weren't brought to Soul Society by a shinigami. Souls that escaped. Souls that weren't protected from hollows. A soul that becomes a hollow, to fill its empty heart…. Seeks out those it loved most in its past life. We often hear stories about a husband dying and then the wife dying a few years afterward, right? That's because the husband became a hollow and ate the wife's soul."

Hana trembled a little bit; she was obviously getting what I was saying. "Today, when we saw Inoue she had a large mark on her leg, right? That was a hollow bite mark." Both gasped a bit and Hana's speed picked up just a little. "That's why I asked you. "Does she have family?" and you said "She had one much older brother" If you are right that this much older brother is her only family…. Then there's no doubt Inoue will be the one who is attacked!" Hana's speed picked up again and as did Ichigo's.

"I have to save her! I promised myself that I would protect all of those that I love!" She screamed and took off. 'That girl…. It will be interesting to see the hollow that falls in love with her….'

Hana POV

'I have to do it! I have to save Hime-chan! I want to go faster….' I ground my teeth together and held Bara out in front of me. "Bara! Supīdo o ageru! Kazeninotte hanabira!" (1) I felt the wind pick up around me and soft petals brush my cheeks. Some of the petals were blue, others orange and still yet, some black. Ichi-nii called for me to slow down but I couldn't, I have to save Hime-chan!

I could see the hollow bout to attack her and jumped in the way with Bara raised to block the attack. "Hana-chan….?" I winced a little bit at the strength of the hollow in front of me, "You interfere?" I smirked a little bit and made sure that Bara covered my eyes from the hollow. "I'm sorry sir but, it's my job to do so. It is my goal to protect those that I care about! If you want to kill Hime-chan… You have to kill me first and I will make sure that it does not happen!" I growled I would make sure that nothing happened to one of the people that I cared about the most. Hime-chan was very important to me since she was the first outside of my family to accept me for who I was. _"Remember that you have me to help you protect her now. I'm very glad that you figured out the speed spell on your own like that."_

For some reason…. This chapter ended up being short…. Anyway, I finally got a review on who someone thinks that the live interest will be. Thank you to sync94 for being the first to comment on the love interest. This story has turned out the way that I very much liked. I had planned to confuse others on who the interest may be and it appears to have worked. I will not tell you whether or not you are correct in guessing on who the love interest is. If you have a feeling on who it will be and you review, could you please tell me what makes you think that it is that person for my future reference please. Thank you to all who have reviewed and I am glad that you enjoy this story. Being home sick from school for three days has helped me get a good start on typing and posting too! Hana; "Hurry up and conclude already!" Ichigo- "Yeah! You're getting pretty annoying…" Oh shut up you two!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- To Protect My Friend, I Use My First Power!

The hollow pulled back so I took a moment to look around, Tatsuki-chan was unconscious on the floor. 'She was just here…. It was just a coincidence…. There's someone over there on the floor too….. Hime-chan?! No, no it can't be! She's behind me!' I looked over my shoulder at Hime-chan, she smiled brightly at me. "I thought so! It's Hana-chan!" My eyes widened, she shouldn't be able to see me! "You can see me?" "Eh…? Um….? Why…?" I looked her over; a chain was coming from the middle of her chest and to the body on the floor.

"Isn't it obvious?" A rough voice said behind me, the hollow… "It's because that's her soul!" I looked over my shoulder at the beast that was Hime-chan's older brother, "Too bad for you. Orihime is already dead!" Tears pricked in my eyes, 'No, no!' I did not notice the hollow raising its tail until it hit me; I was thrown through the wall and skidded to a stop over Ichi-nii and Kuchiki-chan.

"Hana!" My teeth ground together as a tear slid down my face. 'I can't be too late! I can't!' "What's wrong little girl? Despite that small body of yours, you move pretty slow." I glared at the monster, "Is it…. That much of a shock that Orihime's soul has been removed from her body…?" It spat something at my hand that burned terribly though I did not dare let go of Bara. In the moment that I took to examine my hand, I was hit again and thrown to the ground. "Hana!" "Hana-cha…" I did not hear the rest that Hime-chan said while my brother and Kuchiki-chan helped me up.

'I-I'm failing… I'm failing at my true goal! T-this can't happen!' I clasped my hands over the sides of my head as tears continued to fall, I did not notice that Ichi-nii had gone to fight the hollow while I was stuck in a break down, nor did I notice Kuchiki-chan trying to calm me down. 'Why do things like this always happen to me!? Why can I never protect those who need me?!' I stood up straight again and clenched my fists at my sides before picking Bara up off of the ground.

I had dropped her on the ground during my fit; I began to step forward but froze when I saw the hollow bit Hime-chan. She began apologizing for the fact that she was reason he was this way, I wanted to help her so bad but what can I do? _"Use your first power…" _I stepped forward again, _"Release his heart from its chains so that he may show his sister that it is still him."_ I pointed Bara at Hime-chan's brother, the spot where his heart would be. "Jōka suru! Kokoro o kaihō shite kudasai!" I called out; multi-colored petals flew from Bara and wrapped themselves around Hime-chan's brother.

The evil side of him seemed to recede deep inside of him. "I'm sorry for making you sad… I love you…." She began to fall to the side. "Ori…." "Inoue!" "Hime-chan…" "Don't panic!" I glanced over my shoulder at Kuchiki-san, "She can still be saved!" "Rukia…" "The "chain of fate" on her chest hasn't been broken yet!" I looked over to see that she was right. "As long as that is connected to the body, the spirit isn't dead!" I smiled; Hime-chan would be alright, though it was no thanks to me… _"Silly girl, if you had not jumped in front of the hollow the way you did, she would more than likely be dead." _So I did save her? "She can be saved with my demon arts!" I turned to Rukia and nodded, "Then do it, I'll help you if you need it!" She nodded back and made her way over to Hime-chan.

"Orihime… Orihime…" Her brother was upset now. "You're in the way of the healing. Move back!" "Yeah… In truth, I knew that, Orihime… That you stopped praying to not worry me…." Ichi-nii and I watched and listened, I kept my ears open for Kuchiki-chan's call in case I was needed. "But… Even so, I wanted you to pray for me… Because only during the time you were praying for me… Your heart was all mine…." The hollow who was Hime-chan's brother began to cry, I thought hollows had no emotions. _"Their hearts are locked away, you have the ability to release their hearts from their cages and allow them to be more human than monster."_

"You… What are you looking at…?" "Her hairpins… Weren't those a present from you? Inoue told me about them." I smiled and continued on with what my brother was saying. "That they were the first present from her brother," "That that's why she wears them every day." We said together, I placed my hand on the hollow's shoulder. "It's the same those that die and those that survive…. Both are just as sad as the other….!" I blinked a little bit as Ichi-nii continued. "Don't be so selfish to think… That you are the only one who's sad….!" The hollow moved a little bit, "I never noticed…" He stood and began moving. "H-hey…. Where are you…. Wha!?" I smiled a little bit, he was going to finish this himself but perhaps he should really be himself. "Kiyomeru…." It was pretty much the same spell as before only with different pronunciation.

"You….! What are you do….!?" Hime-chan's brother's mask began to fall off, it hit the floor. "…It's fine. If I stay like this I'll someday once again lose myself and come after Orihime." He reached out for Bara and I held her out to him, he wanted to do this himself and I thought that it was a good thing to do. He took Bara in his hands and moved her towards his neck. "That's why, right now while I have regained a small part of myself I want to disappear…" He was sad but what he was doing was for the best. "But why… You don't have…" "Ichigo!" Kuchiki-chan cut him off, "His decision is correct once you become a hollow you will never revert back! Let him disappear." "Rukia…!"

I kept my eyes on the brave hollow in front of me as he looked down at me as well. ""Cutting" a hollow is not the same as "killing" them it is to wash away their sins." I smiled up at the hollow and handed him and orange flower that had materialized in my hand; he was shocked for a moment. "By cutting them with the zanpakutou… Their sins are washed away, and they can go to soul society. That's why… We shinigamis exist." Hime-chan's brother leaned over her, "Then…. Goodbye, Orihime…."

Hime-chan opened her eyes and smiled up at her brother as his hollow body began to disintegrate. "….Brother…. Goodbye…." His eyes widened and his hollow form was now gone and soon, so was he. I smiled at the place he had been; did I really get to help someone like that? Did I really get to help someone say goodbye to a loved one, one last time? _"You did, and if you work with that spell…. You can get hollows to become more human for longer periods of time." _ I made a promise to myself, a new one, I would allow any hollow I could to be as human as possible in its last minutes before it is sent to Soul Society.

"He's gone…" "Yup…." "How are your wounds Ichi-nii?" "Oh yeah, almost completely…." Hime-chan cut off our conversation, "N…. Never mind that, Kurosaki-kun! Hana-chan! There's so many things I want to ask…" Kuchiki-chan held out her closed hand that obviously held something and she clicked it causing smoke to appear in Him-chan's face, she fell over. "Inoue!? What did you do!?" My eyes rolled as I sheathed Bara in my chest and my more human appearance returned before Kuchiki-chan began to explain. "This is the memory chikan! It erases her memory and substitutes a new one." Ichi-nii was just as lost as normal, "Memory chikan…" "Yes! Well, the fact that the new memories are random is kind of a problem…"

Kuchiki-chan checked on Tatsuki-san, "Hmm… This one probably didn't see anything but might as well use it on her too." Ichi-nii remained lost despite the explanation so I sighed, "If you don't understand then wait 'til tomorrow!" I clapped my hand on my brother's shoulder with a playful smile. "Perhaps we should see if Otousan has any medication that can help you concentrate better!" I teased and ducked as Ichi-nii took a swipe at me, I giggled and we were on our way home again.

I looked at myself in the mirror the next morning while brushing my hair, something about my appearance needed to change. I still looked too much like the old Hana! 'My hair… Maybe I'll cut it later….' I smiled sadly, 'I haven't cut it since the last time Okasan did it…' I nodded with my mind made up; as soon as I could I would cut my hair! Then not only would it represent the new me and my new life but it would keep me from comparing myself with Hime-chan so often. But how much shorter did I want my hair? Oh well, I had plenty of time to decide that later. "Hana! We're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up!" I laughed and scoped up my things for school before sliding down the stair railing and landing on my feet in front of Ichi-nii. "How's that for getting down fast?"

We watched Hime-chan's group interact at school to see what her memory had been replaced with. It was kind of funny because no one believed her until Tatsuki-chan said that it was true. "You used that on our family the other day, didn't you?" "Yeah, I used it. It worked well, right?"

One thing is for sure, this new life of mine is awfully crazy. But, I'm still glad that I have it and even everything that comes along with it. I always find myself wondering "what will happen next?" Though it is almost unpredictable. My life was never boring but now it is even better! I found out a new way to help hollows who have forgotten who they really are, a way to allow them to feel emotions that they thought were forgotten and I plan to strengthen and use it! But this is just one of my powers, right? What are the rest?

Eh, sorry if it's not very good this time. My head is all over the place and I can't think straight due to the mixture of medicines that I'm on… NOT BAD ONES! They don't agree at all and it really messes my head up. There is another love interest hint at the end of this chapter in the part where Hana recaps on what happened and how she felt about it. Thank you for reading Ichigo's Twin!


End file.
